ALBERT B. CASUGA, a Philippine-born writer, lives in Mississauga, Ontario, Canada, where he continues to write poetry, fiction, and criticism after his retirement from teaching and serving as an elected member of his region's school board. He was nominated to the Mississauga Arts Council Literary Awards in 2007. A graduate of the Royal and Pontifical University of St. Thomas (now University of Santo Tomas, Manila. Literature and English, magna cum laude), he taught English and Literature (Criticism, Theory, and Creative Writing) at the Philippines' De La Salle University and San Beda College. He has authored books of poetry, short stories, literary theory and criticism. He has won awards for his works in Canada, the U.S.A., and the Philippines. His latest work, A Theory of Echoes and Other Poems was published February 2009 by the University of Santo Tomas Publishing House. His fiction and poetry were published by online literary journals Asia Writes and Coastal Poems recently.
He was a Fellow at the 1972 Silliman University Writers Workshop, Philippines. As a journalist, he worked with the United Press International and wrote an art column for the defunct Philippines Herald.

Sunday, September 28, 2014

MY GRANDCHILD NUMBER # 7 SYDNEY: IN ONE LONG PARAGRAPH

Sydney's mock-up of a Website which she made as a class project. Just a small proof of what she can do in her art work.

MY
GRANDCHILD NUMBER # 7 SYDNEY: IN ONE LONG PARAGRAPH

When I saw Sydney perform in a recent
play at her school, I was not surprised she could do an extremely good job of
playing the lead part of Dorothy in the “Wizard of Oz.” She is a natural for
that role; she has courage to stand for what she believes in, but she does not
fail to show compassion for others. Sydney, whom I jokingly call “Disney”, now
and then, laughs readily at this, but would hasten to correct me for a
misspelling of her name (Sidney, boy’s name) in my Facebook posts---a sense of
humour, obviously, but someone who finds no excuse for ignorance (hence, a
sensitive nature; one who can be frank and honest about calling attention to
this); yet, she does this without malice, and she easily gets along with others
by being adaptable to situations she could not control; at the same time, she
would not hesitate to lead in an effort to learn what is good for her and her
group of friends. She also displays her sensitiveness in her love for art
(drawing, writing stories and poems, acting, singing, playing the piano, and carousing
with her sister and cousins when they get together at family parties and
reunions. My wife, her grandmother, thinks Sydney is frugal, yet generous (when
her parents involve them in a family project) with money she has earned from
rewards for doing chores at home, for getting A’s in school; I agree, because I
have seen her offer her savings without being asked. She is caring and kind not
in an ingratiating way, but even worries about her godmother, our oldest
daughter---whom she endearingly calls “Mimang” (a combination of Mama-auntie
and Ninang or godmother) ---who chose to remain single (Syd, obviously equates
married life to a haven of happy families, which is why sheenjoys being with her cousins, grandparents
(both sides), and her aunts and her uncles. Look, five sentences that could
belong to a single but long paragraph; it is not enough for me, really, because
I could write more as a loving and admiring grandfather: i.e., she is a good
child, grandchild, niece, cousin, student, and a grateful Canadian citizen.

LOLO Albert B. CasugaJ

This is that long paragraph in her website mock-up which I wrote as part, I think , of what I happily consider my "apostolic" function with my grandchildren (in our dialect, APO, or granddaughter, or nieta.)

A. B. Casuga's works are anthologized in A Habit of Shores by G. H. Abad (UP Press), Introduction to Poetry by Edith Tiempo et al (Silliman University), and has been published in journals and magazines in Philippines, Canada, United States, and Australia.